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From Brenda Banwell, MD, Chief of Child Neurology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia:

Jessica Anne Panzer, M.D., Ph.D., Attending Physician and Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and The Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania, passed away on Saturday, May 13, 2017, at the age of 40 years, surrounded by family, following a brief, but terrible struggle with cancer.

Dr. Panzer grew up in Rush, NY, and received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, in 1998. She then enrolled in the M.D./Ph.D. Program at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she earned her M.D. degree, receiving a Predoctoral Medical Student Fellowship in 2001 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience working in the laboratory of Dr. Rita Balice-Gordon. Dr. Panzer was a pioneer in developing in vivo imaging of neuromuscular synapotogenesis in zebrafish. Her work was published in in Developmental Biology and The Journal of Neuroscience. Dr. Panzer then completed internship and medical residency in Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Child Neurology training at CHOP and The University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Clinical Fellowship in Movement Disorders at The University of Pennsylvania. She maintained her Board Certification in both Neurology and Pediatrics. She was one of the few pediatric movement disorders subspecialists in the country and, even more unique, one of the few pediatric physician scientists with expertise in autoimmune etiologies of the CNS in children. Her primary research focus, and the subject of her current K08 grant, related to NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Dr. Panzer will also be deeply missed by her colleagues and by the many families whose lives are forever impacted by her brilliant, compassionate care. Jess is remembered as a quiet friend, whose unfailing willingness to share her knowledge, kindness, and sense of humor has left a lasting legacy. Memories can be shared at neurogenetics@email.chop.edu and will be compiled into a scrapbook for her family.

Dr. Panzer is survived by her husband (Dareus), son (Dareus, Jr.; 7) and daughter (Noemi; 5), her parents, sister, and brother. Their loss is immeasurable.